


The Body in the Library

by Fabrisse



Category: Lewis (TV)
Genre: Case Fic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-19
Updated: 2012-12-19
Packaged: 2017-11-21 12:38:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/597855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabrisse/pseuds/Fabrisse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a case for Lewis and Hathaway that begins with a body in a library.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Body in the Library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cedara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cedara/gifts).



> Gileswench betaed, as she did all my Yuletide 2012 stories.

“There’s been a murder, sir, at Clarendon House.”

Lewis said, “Can it wait fifteen minutes? I’d like to eat me fish and chips.”

Hathaway fiddled with a pen. “Tell you what, sir, I’ll head on down to the crime scene and leave you to your chips. That will get the ball rolling.”

“Fair enough. You roll the ball, and I’ll eat lunch. See you there in half an hour. And tell Doctor Hobson not to take away the body til I get there.”

“I’m sure she wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” Hathaway said.

***  
Inspector Lewis arrived at the scene and accepted the usual precautions. Doctor Hobson raised an eyebrow at him and began, “Fifty year old male. Temperature and beginnings of rigor indicate he died somewhere between midnight and three a.m. He was found by his secretary around eleven.”

“That seems rather late,” Lewis said.

Hathaway said, “It is, sir. The secretary, Doris Winton, had a dentist’s appointment this morning. She left at five thirty yesterday afternoon, and says Professor Parker wished her a good evening as she left.”

“So we have an identification.” He noticed a look pass between Hathaway and Hobson.

Hathaway cleared his throat. “Yes, sir. Other than Mrs. Winton, I was able to provide a corroborating identification until family can be notified.”

Lewis rolled his eyes. “You’re saying you knew this Professor Parker? Is there anyone in Oxford you haven’t studied with?”

“That’s not quite how it is, sir.”

Doctor Hobson came to Hathaway’s rescue. “Well, now that you’ve seen him _in situ_ , I’m taking the professor back to the morgue.” She shook her head. “Working with you lot, I occasionally feel like I’m in an Agatha Christie novel -- a body in the library, no less.”

Lewis nodded. “At least there won’t be any butlers involved.” He glanced at Hathaway, “I’m right, aren’t I? Clarendon House doesn’t have butlers.”

“Not that I know of, sir.”

“Thank you, Doctor Hobson,” Lewis said. “We’ll take it from here.”

Doctor Hobson nodded to her helpers, and the body was wheeled away. 

Lewis said, “Is there anything particularly unusual about this case?”

“Other than lack of motive? Not really,” Hathaway said. “It seems to have been a crime of opportunity, perhaps passion. He was stabbed with the letter opener from his desk. It may have been a lucky blow in that death was nearly instantaneous.”

“Does Hobson think medical knowledge would be required?”

Hathaway shrugged. “Doubtful, sir. The attacker was probably shorter than Professor Parker. The blow went under the ribcage, but that could be a knowledge of basic anatomy or just a love of, well, as Doctor Hobson said, Agatha Christie stories. The attacker knew enough not to pull out the blade which is why there was almost no blood.”

Lewis said, “I’m sure forensics will tell us all about the weapon, though I’m obliged to wonder why anyone would keep a letter opener that sharp.”

“Indeed, sir.”

“Have constables talk to everyone in the building and figure out a timeline of departures last night and arrivals this morning. Maybe there will be a discrepancy.”

“We should be so lucky, sir.”

Lewis chuckled. “We should indeed, sergeant.”

***  
They’d interviewed the head of Clarendon House and spoken to the human resources people for the Bodleian Libraries. After a quick interview with Professor Parker’s landlady, who confirmed that she hadn’t heard him come home the night before and that he was a quiet man who kept to himself, Lewis told Hathaway to stop at the pub closest to the crime scene for a pint and a bite to eat.

“So, how do you know our victim?”

Hathaway took a sip of his ginger beer and said, “You know we don’t get paid enough.”

“Who does? I made extra sometimes by taking guard duty -- security work -- but I can’t see you doing that.”

“No, sir, neither can I.” Hathaway took a few bites of his cheese and leek pie as he thought his answer through. “In America, there are two different lines of pop culture and philosophy books. They’ve proven very popular even around here. Oxford University Press...”

Lewis interrupted, “I thought they didn’t use Clarendon House anymore?”

“They don’t, sir, but Professor Parker worked for them as editor to the professions and philosophy series that OUP has started. The first one was Doctors and Philosophy. The essays ran the gamut from the philosophical underpinnings of the Hippocratic oath and the national health service to how doctors are portrayed in popular culture. The second one they tackled was on Police and Philosophy. They wanted to have at least one ‘real’ policeman comment on the profession and a friend of mine suggested me. I’ve written a couple of essays for later works as well. The fee isn’t bad, and I get a minuscule royalty on every copy sold.”

Lewis nodded and said, “Does that include e-books? I imagine that’s quite a lucrative market.”

“It does, and it is. Anyway, I’ve met Professor Parker three times. Once to interview for my essay slot in the policing book, once when he asked me to come in and review an essay by another writer, and once at an end of term party.”

“What were your impressions?”

Hathaway said, “An academic who lived for his work. Well organized, of course, one has to be for editing an entire range of books. I would say passionate about originality. The reason he asked me to review that essay was that he suspected plagiarism. I found a couple of suspect passages and suggested he run it through one of the software programs the Americans have.”

Lewis brightened at that. “Really. What was the name of the plagiarist?”

“No idea, really. He gave me a copy with the name redacted.”

“Well, that can be your line of inquiry tomorrow. Start by interviewing Mrs. Winton about essays and suspected plagiarism.”

“Will do, sir.” 

***  
It took several days of hard slogging through both the victim’s address books and the unpublished essays for the next two works in the series. Mrs. Winton provided invaluable help to both Hathaway and Lewis including getting most of the essayists to come into the police station for interviews.

At the end of the slog, there were three suspects. One was an undergraduate, Jane Doe -- and both policemen were incredulous that it was her real name -- whom Professor Parker was tutoring. The other two were essayists who thought the remuneration that went to the writers was too low.

Lewis checked with Doctor Hobson. “Could a woman have done it?”

“As sharp as that letter opener was? A five year old, of either sex, could have done it provided they were the right height,” she said.

“And that would be?”

Doctor Hobson said, “Professor Parker was as tall as Hathaway, so I probably couldn’t have done it -- just for angles, I’m certainly strong enough -- and Hathaway would have needed to bend his knees quite a bit to get the angle right.”

Lewis sighed, “So somewhere between five-five and six feet? That doesn’t let off any of our suspects.”

As they left the lab, Hathaway said, “Sir, I don’t think it’s Jane Doe.”

“And what leads to this insight?”

“She wasn’t doing well with Professor Parker and her alibi for the night he was killed ends before the likely time of death, but she’s in her first year. She’s doing very well in her other work according to her advisor. She already had in a formal request to replace him as her tutor. If the murder had happened after she’d been turned down in the request, all right, fair doings to suspect her. But, frankly sir, did she strike you as someone who was impatient?”

Lewis thought for a moment. “No. You’re right. We’ll come back to her if we’re able to eliminate the other two from our inquiries.”

“I think I may have a line on which one’s more likely. Can I present it to you tomorrow?” Hathaway asked.

“Why not?”

***  
When Lewis arrived at the office the following morning, it was clear Hathaway had been there all night. The chalkboard was covered with notes.

Lewis put down a package and a cup in front of his sergeant and said, “Bacon buttie and a coffee from that place you like.”

Hathaway opened the package and fell on the sandwich like a dying man. 

“Once you’ve swallowed tell me what we’ve got.”

Hathaway used some coffee to wash down a couple of bites and said, “Mister Butler has a long and prestigious reputation in philosophy, and he’s expected to complete his doctorate at the end of the term. Mister Stone is not as well known in academia. He’s primarily interested in popular culture and admits in his biographical notes at the back of the books that he has no degree from any university.”

“All right. So where’s this going, then?”

Hathaway swallowed another bite of sandwich before saying, “Which one is a proven plagiarist?”

“Really? One of the ones you reviewed?”

“No, sir. The essays I read last night were from the latest book. Professor Parker might have asked me to look into it had he lived, but he either didn’t get the chance or used another reviewer. I’ve asked Mrs. Winton to check his emails to see if he did ask someone else to look into it.”

Lewis stared at him. “And? Are you telling me Stone’s a plagiarist willing to kill over an essay?”

“No, sir. The Butler did it. He has the most to lose, of course. It’s not just ‘publish or perish.’ There’s his degree on the line as well. I used two different software services to confirm what I’d already found. Butler wasn’t just missing citations, he was changing words here and there so that the phrases wouldn’t be found easily by entering the quotes in a search engine. It’s deliberate and systematic. And he’ll be here for a follow-up interview in half an hour.”

Lewis looked at his sergeant with approval. “Well then, you’d better go shave before the interrogation.”

***  
Chief Superintendent Innocent watched the interview with a smile. Hathaway patiently and quietly broke Butler down until he confessed to the killing. 

“You’ve been good for him, Lewis.”

“Thank you, Ma’am.”

She said, “Encourage him to take the Inspector’s exam this year. I think he’s ready.”

Lewis nodded. “So do I, ma’am. I’ll regret losing him as a partner, though.”

“Well, it will take at least a year, and who knows how long after that before a slot opens. I’m sure the two of you will be working together a fair while yet.”


End file.
